Overtaken
by Cuddlesworth
Summary: An ancient threat returns. - Fair warning: Probably not the kind of thing you would expect from a Splatoon fan fiction.
1. Chapter 1

Myo continued to struggle against her captors, monstrous creatures at least twice the size of an Inkling. They towered over her, the cuffs they had her in were unbreakable.

"H-hey! Where are you taking us!? L-let me go!" Myo gurgled in protest against the giants on either side of her, holding back her tears and stuttering in fear.

" _Ytsief elttil slamina t'nera yeht? Yeh, t'nac uoy nrael? Uoy t'nac kaerb esoht sniahc!"_ One of the creatures shouted at Myo in a language she could not understand. It's harsh deep voice was unlike anything she had ever heard. She could only assume they did not understand her either, so trying to reason with them was pointless. Morphing into her squid form also wouldn't help her, she had already tried that, and electrocution wasn't very comfortable.

Soon enough they came across a behemoth of a structure; a massive steel whale in shape, with hulking legs digging into the grass and dirt beneath it. A space cruiser, large enough to cast half of Inkopolis into shade. They dragged Myo up a large ramp and into its interior, and she beheld broad, sterile halls and great doors. Other cases of giants carrying chained Inklings were funneled in around them.

Eventually their grip on her tightened as they removed her binds and tossed her into a small room, her moist skin hitting the floor with a splat. "Uhg… Wh-what? You can't just leave me in here!" Myo's bubbling voice fell on deaf ears as the towering beings swung the metal door shut. The cell they left her in was the size of a closet, empty and cold, lit by a single white light.

There was a small window on the door but it was too high for her. She jumped, reaching for the ledge and found it, pulling herself up to see. She saw other member's of the tall race dragging fellow chained Inklings through the steel hallways, some still struggling others completely limp and sobbing.

Only a few hours had passed since fighting had broken out on the outskirts of Inkoplois. These beasts had stormed the city, completely unphased by squid weaponry. At first everyone had believed them to be some new kind of Octarian weapon, or perhaps giant Octolings. But no, these beings were much too cruel. Octarians were persistent, but they never killed their foes in such quantity.

She, along with hundreds of other Inklings had rushed to their city's defense but were completely unprepared for what they met. There had been no ink, no color in that battle, only fire and death. In the commotion Myo had been completely separated from her two best friends, and she worried for their safety, and her own. She did not know what these creatures wanted with them, but it couldn't be good.

Myo dropped back to the floor, she couldn't bear the display any longer. Finally letting go of her tears, she cried in fear and confusion. There was so much she did not understand. Who were these monsters? How could they do something so horrible?

X

It was quiet and dark. A lot of time had passed since the muffled activity outside her cell had ceased. It was likely night outside by now, and the single light in the room had switched off on it's own, implying exactly that. Myo had long since grown exhausted, she couldn't cry any more. Now she attempted to nap on the floor of her room, but it was no use. The floor was cold, hard and dry, it was nothing like home.

The young Inkling now had time to properly panic, thoughts raced through her head tirelessly, fear of what would happen to her. She tried to rest but sleep would not come. By now, Inkopolis had no doubt been completely overrun, the fighting was over. How many Inklings had died today? The weight of that question crushed her.

X

The light returned and suddenly voices could be heard outside in the hallway, jolting Myo to attention. "It can't be morning already…" she complained. A restless night would weigh her down for the whole day.

The door to her cell flew open, one of the giants reached in and tugged her out by the wrist. Myo noticed this happening to all imprisoned Inklings, who began walking down the hall, guided by one of the monsters at the front. She soon found herself forced to follow. Everyone wore the same bright orange colored mantles, it was the collective color they converted to in the battle yesterday. There were quiet murmurs of uncertainty between them as they marched forward, giants on standing guard on the sides.

Myo felt someone tap her on the back, she turned to see an Inkling boy, he was a bit shorter than she was. His dark blue eyes exaggerated by the opposing orange on his head "C-Cepha!?" he gasped. "Oh... Sorry I thought you were someone else. She kind of looks-... looked like you. She even had these pink eyes, like yours."

"I-… Sorry." Myo shook her head lightly. The boy's wide eyes fell to the floor, and Myo turned away, only to feel him tap her back again.

"H-hey, I'm all alone here… Y-you don't mind if I hang around with you. Do you? " He begged.

Myo thought about it briefly "Alright." she said. "I need to look for my friends, I don't know what happened to them. So maybe we can work together?" Myo offered.

The boy smiled shyly "That would be really great. My name is Psid."

She smiled back at him "My name is Myo. I wish we could have met each other in a happier place…" she lamented.

"Yeah." Psid's gaze returned to the floor.

The two of them kept close together so as to not get lost in the crowd. Myo described her two friends to Psid as they went, and he promised to keep an eye out.

looking at the uninhabited halls they intersected, Myo considered simply running off through them, finding the ramp through which she entered and escape. But then she looked to the creatures, they held those weapons in their hands, the ones that brought instant death with a single flash. They would easily strike her down if she dared venture.

"Psid. Do you know anything about these giants? have you ever heard of them before?" Myo knew nothing of them, she hoped her new friend might have some idea.

"Um… No." Psid answered flatly after brief thought.

"I think I know what they are." the Inkling boy beside them interjected, cracked glasses over one healthy, and one bruised eye.

"Y-you do?" Psid said wide eyed.

"Yes." the Inkling continued. "Pretty sure they're 'The Ancients', we have fossils of them in the Inkopolis Museum. Haven't you been?"

"No. I haven't." Psid said, feeling uneducated.

"The Ancients? But... aren't they extinct?" Myo asked, astonished at the revelation.

"Apparently not. Look at them, they are the spit image. To think a twelve thousand year old civilization would still exist…" The Inkling finished almost talking to himself.

Ancients they were then. But where have they been all this time if-?

Myo's thoughts were interrupted with a sharp bang, followed by the horrified screaming of the entire crowd. She soon spotted the cause of the chaos, a girl had attempted to run off and was now lying face down... unmoving. An Ancient ran to drag the girl out of sight leaving a red trail on the glossy floor. It was not ink. Myo diverted her gaze and Psid started crying hysterically.

The crowd continued it's terrified wail as the remaining Ancients fought to regain order. " _Ecnelis! Encelis!_ " one of them boomed in its deep voice, running towards another Ancient, grabbing him by the shirt " _Toidi! Kool tahw uoy evah enod! T'nod od taht niaga!_ "

" _Ti saw gnitteg yawa!_ " the other shouted back, pushing him away.

" _Revetahw. Pleh em mlac eseht sgniht nwod_." they separated. And began to slowly restore peace.

"Hey, Psid… Hey." Myo whispered, trying to soothe the bawling squid next to her. "It's alright. We're safe. Okay?" It was not exactly true, but she did her best to comfort her new ally. While he did revert to a sob, Psid refused to to be fully pacified, memories from the day prior fresh once again in his mind.

"T-they're… they're all… gone..." he choked on his tears.

Myo could say nothing in response, she could hardly believe this was all happening. While they demanded to be released, she decided to hold back her tears, to appear strong and give Psid some level of comfort. She placed a hand on his shoulder and gently tugged him to continue following the crowd, which continued on its way. Once her face was out of Psid's view again, she quickly wiped away anything that escaped from her eyes.

X

The Inklings were fed in a gymnasium sized room filled with tables too large for them, but they made do. They were given fish but it did not taste very good, nobody complained since everyone was hungry, and it was at least cooked. Myo in particular had not eaten since breakfast the day prior, her constant stream of adrenaline keeping her from taking notice of her need for food.

Upon exiting, the Ancients forced them into a single-file line. Psid stepped in just behind Myo, who looked ahead to see what the reason for the line was. She spotted an Ancient, but he looked different from the others; clad in white rather than the usual grey camouflage. He closely looked at the Inklings in the crowd one by one before sending them off. They seemed to be splitting into two groups upon leaving.

"You're gonna stay with me right? I don't wanna be alone…" Psid held on to Myo's arm, shaking nervously, praying he would not have to be separated from her.

"I don't think is our decision to make." Myo stated. She too did not want to be left alone, having company brought this experience much closer to being bearable. But she had no choice if it came to it.

Before long it was Myo's turn, and she was given a better look at the white coated Ancient. She noticed he was actually smiling. Myo supposed it must be some kind of bemused or sadistic grin. He grabbed at her limbs with his gloved hands and thoroughly inspected her face, as if discovering something for the first time. At last signaling for her to join one of the groups.

Myo dared not disobey, but she looked back at Psid who now began his inspection. The Ancient seemed to take very little interest in him and quickly sent him off into the other group. Psid silently gave a look of desperation at Myo, clearly afraid to be left alone, but the two had no choice.

X

Myo's group was quickly led into a much messier and technology driven area of the ship. They did not stay in a group though, they were led into separate rooms.

Once alone, Myo was observed by white coated Ancients from behind a glass wall as she was presented a series of colors on a screen. She did not know what they intended, but as a bright yellow appeared on screen she instinctively converted her mantle to match it without noticing.

She turned to the Ancients in the glass booth in confusion, only to see their eyebrows raised in surprise at her color swap, jotting down notes on their clipboards.

Myo looked at her tentacles which dangled down from her head, they displayed her new color. "Oh." she said upon realization. Another color was brought on screen, a cyan blue. She matched it without even thinking, resulting in more impressed expressions from her observers.

More colors followed, deep reds, blues, vibrant greens, even black and white. Sometimes new colors flashed within seconds of the last. She instantly matched them all with ease. "This is pretty easy." she remarked out loud, though she doubted the Ancients knew what she was saying, or even noticed that she spoke at all.

Before long they moved on to a test of her memory: Showing colors in an ordered pattern Myo needed to remember, and then replicating it with colored cards she was given by one of the Ancients. The patterns were not particularly hard to remember, only a few items to remember at a time.

"Heh, I feel like I'm in preschool again." She chuckled. It was almost funny how after wading through hellish death and brutality she was now presented with basic cognitive tasks. The Ancients seemed even more impressed with these results than with her last test.

" _Pmar pu eht ytluciffid. Tel su ees eht tnetxe fo s'ti ecnegilletni._ " One of them nodded in understanding. From behind the glass their speech was muffled and even more distorted than normal. Myo was quickly given a new pattern to memorize, but this one was longer, more challenging. She scratched her head for a moment, her mantel actually flashed the various colors as they came up.

Myo then attempted to replicate the long pattern with the cards as best she could. Perhaps if she had been better rested she would have completed the pattern more easily. She was certain she had mixed a couple of them up, but the Ancients still seemed impressed regardless.

X

Spending her entire day carrying out simple tasks was the last thing Myo expected to be in store for her. Clearly the Ancients knew nothing of the Inkling race if they were surprised at her color changing abilities.

She now purposefully shifted the color of her mantle back to the orange of everyone else. As she was guided back into the room they had eaten that morning, Myo stood on her toes to see over the heads of the returning crowd, looking for Psid. She felt a tap on her back.

"Hey Myo." Psid had spotted her first.

"Oh, there you are." Myo turned to greet him, but was shocked to see him bloody knuckled, and his clothes covered in mud and tattered. "W-what happened to you?"

"Um, well they took us outside to work." Psid explained. He panted for a moment, still out of breath from the trials of the day. "We did some digging, and construction, and stuff like that."

"That does not explain how you got like this."

Psid turned his head away, as if ashamed of something. "Well… some of them they had whips. Y-you know… In case we slowed down." he turned to show his back, the shirt had a large tear in it revealing a huge stripe of red crust on his back.

Myo clenched her fists and bared her teeth-like beak. She glared death at one of the Ancients standing guard. He stood straight and tall, his weapon close to his chest, small beady eyes staring into the void. His resolute stance demanded respect, but these beings deserved none. "Bastards! Haven't they done enough already?" Myo snarled.

Looking around at the other Inklings she saw that many of them had large bruises and cuts as well. Myo reached out to look at Psid's wound more closely, he flinched when she touched it. "H-hey! Don't! That hurt!" he yelped, turning back around to face her.

"Sorry." Myo apologized, she should have expected such a reaction.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you…" he looked at the floor, ashamed of his outburst.

"You don't need to apologize. It was my fault." Myo placed a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, I'm going to make sure I'm with you tomorrow. Alright? I don't know how, but… I'll make it happen." Psid's wide eyes looked up at her, and he gave a warm smile.

X

The Inklings were given a small supper of fish, it tasted just as terrible as it did for breakfast. But again: it was at least cooked. Then they were all guided back out of the room into the maze of corridors. Nobody tried to run this time, they knew exactly what would happen if they did.

"Um. Goodnight, Myo." Psid offered.

"Goodnight. Try to get some rest okay?" Myo knew he deserved all the rest in the world.

The Ancients began to open the cell doors and shove the nearest Inkling into them. Noticing this, Myo simply walked into a cell so as to not be mishandled. She then instructed Psid to do the same.

The steel door swung closed and the activity outside was instantly muffled into near silence. Myo slammed her fist against the wall, the steel absorbed her blow completely. "The 'Ancients' huh? I hate them!" She growled in her bubbly voice.

She slept better than she did the night before despite nothing about the cell changing. She hoped Psid had pleasant dreams.

A/N: for those wondering, 'Myo' is pronounced 'Mio,' and 'Psid' is pronounced 'Sid.' The names both come from the word 'Myopsida' which is an order of squid that has only one eyelid and no hooks on it's tentacles.


	2. Chapter 2

"Booyah!" Myo laughed as she covered her opponent with colored Ink, forcing them to warp back to the spawning gate. "You should be more careful, you guys. He almost sneaked up behind you!" she called out to her two friends, Humbo and Molly, who stood atop a high platform.

"I was busy!" Humbo shouted over his shoulder, sounding like a chastised child despite being a year older than Myo. He launched a powerful charged shot into the enemy team's turf.

"I probably would have messed 'im up real good! We weren't really in trouble." Molly excited herself.

Myo transformed into her Squid form and quickly swam through the ink covered ground up to Humbo and Molly's vantage point. It was the perfect place to pave the way for an attack as it overlooked a large area of the map. "There's only a minute left! Let's make this comeback happen! Give us cover fire, Humbo!"

"Right!" Humbo sunk into the liquid at his feet to swiftly refuel his ink supply, then emerged ready for more combat. Myo and Molly both jumped down into the heart of the arena, shooting at any surface that was not their team color. Humbo launched a shot down, creating an area of green in front of one of the entrances to the area, briefly delaying an invader from entering the space. "Hey! Over there!"

Myo turned to see an Inkling girl trying to create a pink pathway into the area by firing over the green Humbo had just placed. As the foe covered the ground, Myo opened fire on them, causing them to quickly retreat at the threat of being warped all the way back to the respawn. Humbo fired another shot to re-establish the defense he had set. Molly decided to give chase, covering the pathway the girl had come from and dashing down it like a predator on the hunt.

"Let's keep this up! We just need to-" Myo instantly silenced as she glanced back to see Humbo's ghastly expression, he was looking to the horizon. Myo turned to see what had caught his attention. "What… the…?"

An enormous structure hung in the air above the distant cityscape. It was slowly descending, huge legs unfolding.

Myo made her way back to Humbo's vantage point as he had a better view. "What is it?" she asked, despite not expecting an informed answer.

"I don't know." Humbo respond. Whatever it was, it looked very advanced in technology, beyond what the Inklings were currently capable of.

"You don't think it's an Octarian invasion do you?!" Myo gasped. The Octarian's had used highly advanced super weapons in the past to make up for their lack in numbers. The two of them stared at the outlandish object. If it was some kind of super weapon the entire city could be in serious danger.

"We need to get down there and find out what's going on." with a quick glance, Myo and Humbo both saw that the other Inklings had all frozen on the spot as well, yielding their turf war playtime. "Molly! Get over here!"

"Did you see that? 'Thing's big, yo!" Molly hurried up to their side.

"C'mon. We gotta go." Humbo said. The three of them did not unequip their ink weapons despite leaving the turf war arena. While usually harmless fun, ink weapons were capable of doing real harm to Octarians if the intent was there.

Suddenly there was screaming and fire. Myo whirled around in confusion, losing sense of up and down. She knew what would happen next, but at the same time did not. Shrieking and falling through darkness and flashes of sound and light.

X

It was still dark in her cell, and she probably should have tried to sleep a while longer, but the nightmare Myo had scared her from attempting to do so, dreading the chance she might resume it. Now she simply lie in wait for morning, sitting in one corner with nothing but her thoughts to occupy herself.

It had been so vivid, the everyday joy she felt, the faces of friends. But then everything descended into madness, vague images of destruction all around. She thought back two days prior, to when this catastrophe all started, trying to remember what had happened to her friends. She remembered seeing the two of them there, a bright flash, and then darkness, regaining consciousness in the clutches of two Ancients.

It seemed certain that Humbo and Molly had fallen, perhaps Myo had been the lucky one. Yet somehow Myo could feel that had not been their end, she refused to believe her own logical thinking. She was determined to find them, in one way or another.

"I'm just panicking... overreacting is all. I always do that when I'm tired." The light came on after a long wait, and Myo stood up, already awake and alert. The door opened and she stepped out into the hallway. Psid stepped from the cell across from hers, rubbing his eyes sleepily. 'So he got some sleep. Good.' Myo thought to herself.

"Uh… Myo? Good morning." Psid greeted her smiling.

"Good morning, Psid." Myo greeted back.

"I had this dream where I was eating these crabby cakes, they didn't taste like anything though. Or at least… I can't remember what they tasted like… but I still liked them anyways." Psid reminisced. "Did you have any dreams?"

"No. I didn't." Myo lied. "How's your back?"

"It's fine." Psid looked at the floor sheepishly.

Soon after, the crowd of freshly awakened Inklings began their march behind an Ancient at the front. Nobody tried anything foolish. The procedure was the same as it had been the day before; the Inklings were served a small breakfast before being put into a single-file line. Again Psid moved in behind Myo. He tapped her on the back.

"Do you think we are going to be put together today?" Psid asked quietly, careful to not sound too imposing.

Myo turned to look at the front of the line, strangely there was no white coated Ancient picking out Inklings for the two groups. Instead one of the armed ones was making short work of the line, hardly even looking at the specimens before sending them off. There was a pattern to the sorting: one for the first group, then one for the other, back and forth.

"I did promise didn't I?" Myo devised her strategy to stay true to her word. She got the attention of the Inkling in front of her. "Hey. You don't mind if I cut in front of you, do you?" she asked

The Inkling looked at her with a perplexed expression, clearly it did not matter to them at all. "Go ahead."

"Psid, I need you to trust me for a second. I promise I'll be with you today." Myo assured him. Psid nodded at her, but his expression suddenly contorted into worry as Myo cut the Inkling ahead of her, creating a space between them. But he did not question the action, fully trusting her.

The time came for them to be sorted. Myo was directed to a group, the Inkling behind her was put into the other, then Psid was sent to the same group as Myo. He looked incredibly relieved and trotted up to her as if she could offer him some kind of salvation. "This is really great! Really!" he said excitedly.

"It was a promise. I had to keep it." Myo chuckled, but really she knew that her promise was not guaranteed. If it had been a white coat Ancient sorting them like before, there would have been a strong chance they would be apart again.

X

To her astonishment Myo, as well as the rest of the group, was being lead out of the ship, straight down the ramp she had first entered from. "Is this where they took you yesterday?" Myo asked.

"Yep." Psid confirmed.

Finally getting her first glimpse of the outside world in two days, Myo's jaw dropped at the view of Inkopolis. It was in complete ruin, buildings in decay, rubble and chunks of concrete everywhere. If there had been fires they had long since gone out, no smoke rose from it, it just sat there static. Inkopolis Tower still stood, albeit without the Great Zapfish at his usual place atop it. What had happened to him? The sun was shining happily over the emptied skeleton of a city, blissful to the wreckage it granted a warm summer's day. She almost coughed up tears at the sight.

They were lead to where Psid had been working, construction all around. Nobody was sure what the Ancients were building. Perhaps buildings large enough to suit them?

It was interesting to see some of the Ancients at work, as some wore bright orange and yellow, laboring away like the Inklings soon would be. The members of the group were all given jobs, unable to communicate with the Inklings, the Ancients gave them demonstrations on how to perform their tasks. " _Ouy kniht yeht dnatsrednu?_ " One of them smirked.

" _Tegrof tuoba ti. Ll'yeht teg ti fi yeht t'nod."_

The older and stronger Inklings were tasked to more technical construction. Myo and Psid, along with most of the group, were given the task of digging large rectangular holes, to which they tended to diligently. Myo saw for herself that some of the Ancients indeed held whips, occasionally an Inkling would grow tired and everyone would hear the sickening lash of flesh being torn open.

"If we just keep working we'll be fine." Psid said, his bubbly voice shook.

"This is stupid. Don't they realize hurting us isn't going to make us work any better? What do they gain from it?" Myo vented, the lack of compassion or mercy made her question how the Ancients had managed to accomplish anything at all.

Psid dug his shovel into the ground beneath him with a grunt, lifting up dirt and tossing it aside. He breathed heavily.

"Psid, are you alright?" Myo saw that he was struggling; every time he lifted his shovel he winced in pain.

"Uhg… I'm fine…" Psid knew if he stopped things would get worse for him. "Just keep going, they will leave us alone."

Their eyes met briefly. Psid turned way when he saw the concern in Myo's eyes.

An hour passed, or three. Time became a nonexistent force against the tediousness of labor. Psid continued to flinch with pain, getting worse with every minute. Myo broke the silence between them with a gasp; a stain of dark red had grown on the back of Psid's torn shirt.

"Y-you're bleeding-!" Myo covered her mouth, stopping her work, and causing one of the Ancients to glare at her. Noticing this Myo quickly returned to digging, but her attention remained on Psid's well being. "Psid, you need to slow down!"

"But… yesterday… I got this way because of slowing down. I can't do it!" Psid continued to work against the demand to stop.

"Please! You're really going to hurt yourself!" Myo pleaded.

"N-no… I-... Uhg!" Suddenly he froze and contorted in on himself, as if his body was deciding whether or not it should simply collapse right there. It did. Seeing him fall into the dirt and mud at his feet, Myo threw down her shovel and dropped to his side.

" _Yeh! Tahw od uoy kniht siht si!?_ " An Ancient caught sight of the display. " _Siht t'nsi emitdeb!_ "

"No…! Psid, c'mon! You need to get up!" Myo begged for any ounce of strength Psid still had to show itself. She took his arm over her shoulders and began to hoist him up to his feet. She was pushed away, Psid slipped from her hold, and the two of them both fell into the dirt. The Ancient towered supreme over them, whip tight within his grasp.

It came down on to Psid, the crack of the whip meeting his wounded skin pierced Myo's very soul. "S-stop…" The whip came down again, Psid wailed in raw agony. " _Stop it!_ "

Myo jumped in front of the Ancient before he could strike a third time, her forearm extended into a defensive stance, bracing herself to take the blow. The whip lashed at her exposed limb, causing her to cry out.

The Ancient stopped to analyze the interruption. He seemed amused at Myo's futile attempt to protect her friend. " _Os, s'taht woh uoy tnaw ti ot eb?_ " Once she had recovered from the recoil, Myo resumed her stance. The Ancient saw the desperation in her eyes, chuckling. He attacked again, purposefully overextending his reach to land past Myo's outstretched arm. This knocked her into stumbling backwards covering her face. She tried to scream but was out of breath.

" _Toidi! Tahw era uoy gniod!?"_ Another Ancient entered the scene. " _Staht hguone!_ " his deep voice roared at the attacker.

" _Sesht seno deppots gnikrow. M'i gnihcaet meht a nossel."_ The attacking Ancient respond.

The two of them began shouting at each other for a minute or two. Myo made her way back to Psid's side taking his hand to let him know she was there. "P-Psid…" she gurgled.

He sobbed silently, pain engulfed his entire body, unable to move or think of anything else. Myo shed tears, but did not care for her own injuries, she cried for him.

The attacking Ancient eventually turned frustrated and left the scene, returning to his watch. The other one however looked down at the two of them, Myo met his gaze with hers. Perhaps it was the tears obstructing her view, but Myo would have sworn his expression was one of pity. He did not attack, or even shout, he simply watched, seeming unsure of what to do.

Psid's crying eventually quelled, Myo's gentle grip on his hand remained. "I'm sorry... " he said.

The Ancient continued to observe, Inklings around them that worked even now gave him nervous glances. Finally he left, but did not go far. Psid's strength came to him at last, he shakily lifted himself up with Myo's assistance. "Easy…" she whispered. Psid once again stood.

For the remainder of the day the two of them worked slowly and delicately, Psid especially so. Myo had observed her own wounds closely, the one on her arm and the one on her cheek. They were not too bad, the pain had been the worst of it, Psid was her main concern. But he did as she told him, never exerting himself.

X

The sky had become a pale orange as the Ancients began to collect the Inklings back into a group, leading them back up the ramp and into the ship. Myo was tired and worn from the labor, but Psid was worse off. Thankfully he was not confronted by any further Ancients for the remainder of the day.

Their day ended with supper, as expected. The dreadful fish tasted almost gourmet to Myo's exhausted body.

"Hey, I have an idea." Myo began. "Yesterday I didn't have to do any work. Instead they made me do some tests; sciency stuff."

"Really? That sounds really easy." Psid responded.

"It was. Maybe that's what you should do tomorrow. Be apart of the other group and get yourself some rest." Myo concluded.

Psid took a large bite out of his fish, taking as he chewed. "How do you know which group is which when they sort us?" It was a good question, one Myo could not answer. The white coated Ancient had obviously picked his favorites from the group, but the way they had been sorted today seemed entirely by chance.

"I guess we just need to hope." Myo stated.

Once they had been given sufficient time to finish their food, the Inklings were all guided back to the prison-like cells for the night. Psid stumbled a little on the journey, Myo helped him keep balance by letting him lean on her. She gently helped him sit down into his cell, careful not to let his thrashed body tumble over.

Psid grabbed her by the wrist when she turned to leave. "Myo. I'm sorry…"

"For what?" Myo asked, genuinely confused.

"Well… you got hurt because of me." he felt wholly responsible for the bruises on Myo's arm and face.

Myo knelt, looking him in the eye. "What happened to me was my choice. You have nothing to feel bad about."

"Thanks." Psid smiled. Myo began to rise when he spoke again. "Thanks for saving me."

After a nod, Myo quickly moved to an adjacent cell before any of the Ancients could try to shove her in one. With the door shut she sunk to the ground with a sigh. Sleep would come easily this day.

A/N: More trivia! Myo's two friends in the flashback: Humbo and Molly, have squid puns in their names as well. "Humbo" comes from the Humboldt Squid or Jumbo Squid which is a species of large, very aggressive squid. I used the name "Molly" because it has similar spelling to "mollusk", and Squids are mollusks.


	3. Chapter 3

Warning sirens blared, this _was_ an invasion. The ominous sound removed any doubts Myo, Humbo, and Molly had. They made their way through the streets as fast as they could manage, seeking the cause for alarm. Other Inklings stepped forth from the buildings they crossed, various ink weapons in hand, they all began the color swap to orange. Myo made the change too, so as to not be harmed by her allied ink in the impending battle with Octarian forces. The city would not fall to the Octopi today.

"Let 'em bring their super weapon! They've lost before and they will lose again!" Molly hyped.

"They want to fight against the whole city? They must be feeling awfully cocky today, super weapon or not." Humbo chuckled. There would be a battle, but he was certain it would be one resulting in victory.

The three of them stopped in their tracks for a moment, billowing black smoke began rising up over their destination creating hellish clouds that began to blot out the sun. They looked at each other wearing astonished looks, their confidence shaken. A crackling sound reminiscent of fireworks echoed from the distant front. They then hurried, determined to discover the cause of these abnormalities.

Nearing the front, the crackling had become almost deafening; a sharp, rapid banging noise. Inklings all around were setting up barricades, anticipating a retreat.

"O-oh my…" Myo shuttered, spotting two young Inklings that caught her gaze. "L-look!"

"What-?" Humbo could not comment on what he saw. One bloodied girl lay on her back, her eyes half open, and another weeping over her.

Molly took a step back, "is she-?"

Humbo looked up, fire in his eyes. "They won't get away with this…"

"W-we don't even know what's happening! This is getting too serious. I think we should-" Myo spoke but was interrupted.

"I am not leaving! Go if you really want to." Humbo stood in the face of danger yet he did not shake in fear. He prepared himself to fight by finding a vantage point, positioning himself atop a second floor balcony on a nearby apartment building.

"Humbo…" Myo could not help but respect his desire to defend the city, but she feared for her life. She feared for his and Molly's lives.

Someone shouted at them. "They'll be here any second! Get behind something! They aren't Octarians-!" an Inkling dashed in from the fire beyond. "Fall back!" he called, others followed after him, jumping into view. Myo quickly laid out a trail of ink for them to make a quicker escape. They transformed and sunk into it, swimming with utmost haste. Myo heard something buzz past her ear, causing her to instinctively duck. Everyone immediately found cover behind whatever they could find. Peaking up, Myo saw them.

All around things burned to the core, huge figures loomed from behind the smoke, only occasionally leaping forth to reveal their true shape. Her friends stood at her sides, yet the feeling of helplessness clung to Myo's mind. She choked, she fought against the constrictive force with the all her strength, yet darkness continued to envelope her body. It could not be stopped. She knew what would happen next, but at the same time did not. She could not move, she could not breathe, light of day fading from her view.

X

Myo had awoken in true panic, the cold dark cell at first fooled her into thinking she remained in the nightmare for a solid minute after she had first awoken. Huddling against one of the walls like a cornered animal, she whined, slowly remembering reality, realizing that it had only been a dream.

She did not go back to sleep, she simply rested as best she could without letting her consciousness slip. She calmed herself, and regained her composure. But by morning she had still yet to fully collect herself.

Her door opened, as did Psid's adjacent to her. He was still weak from yesterday, and when he did not stand, an Ancient jerked him up to his feet. "Uhg!" Psid yelped at the mistreatment.

"Psid!" Myo snapped back out of her thoughts. She helped him stand properly once the Ancient had let him go. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay." Psid reassured her, "Good morning."

"Morning." She lightly smiled at him. He motioned for her to let him go, he began standing wobbly on his own. "Are you sure you don't need my help?"

"Mmhmm," Psid nodded. At this Myo trusted his confidence, but she would be right next to him if he needed her.

X

Again the Inklings were led into the huge room and fed their breakfast. It was much more quiet than it had been the days before, less people in the crowd seemed to speak. Everyone was worn, less nervous and instead accepting of the air of exhaustion that hung over the room.

Psid sat in relative silence. On previous days he would give light conversation while eating.

"Is something wrong?" Myo questioned him.

"... Do you think they are going to let us go?" Psid asked without looking up at her. Myo had not considered the possibility. She never had thought about this enslaved existence in the long-term. What did the Ancients truly intend to do with them?

"I'm not sure." Off the top of her head Myo supposed that the Ancient's would simply dispose of them once the Inklings no longer proved useful. It didn't seem like too much of a stretch considering their treatment so far. But that was not a very encouraging answer to give Psid.

"It's just… They are only using us to build things for them. Right? What happens if they don't need us anymore?" Psid brought forth an unhealthy thought. What _would_ the Ancient's do with them? "They'd probably-…"

"No." Myo cut him off. "We will be just fine." she was not confident in that statement.

There was a pause between them, the weight of the topic at hand brought an intense feeling of dread and uneasiness. Finally Psid spoke almost out of nowhere. "I've never been in a turf war before. I'm just scared I might… you know... before I ever get the chance."

Myo was caught in complete disbelief. Psid had never played turf war? The number one pastime of all squids? "How old are you?"

"I'm thirteen." he said. "And you need to be at least fourteen to play turf war."

"Only thirteen? And you're already able to transform?" This was new to Myo, Inklings did not usually develop their bipedal form until about the age of fourteen. Until then they remained in their squid form. For Psid to be able to transform so early was certainly impressive to say the least. Myo felt the slightest hint of jealousy, which she immediately banished from her mind.

"What's it like? Y-you know… turf war?" Psid continued looking down at his untouched food, but his voice was heavy with curiosity.

Myo thought for a moment. Turf war had not been on her mind for the last few days. She felt bad describing it, like talking about how wonderful color was with a blind man, but she could not help but gush. "You get to do everything you ever wanted to do. You get to run, swim, and make a big mess without anyone yelling at you. It's like finding the one place you belong. As if there is no place in the world you would rather be…"

Psid swooned at the thought, closing his eyes in meditation. "That sounds really great." he hummed, rocking his head back and forth. "I hope I get to play it someday." He gave Myo a timid smile, finally looking up from his plate.

"C'mon. You need your strength. Eat up." Myo urged him. With a nod, Psid quickly began to eat, eager to finish before the Ancients gathered them into the usual line.

Several white coated Ancients entered the room, gazing over the heads of the crowd. Holding up a notepad one of them spoke. " _E-... woh od uoy ecnuonorp siht? Everyone!"_ he called for the attention of the Inklings. He certainly got all of it. He spoke in Inklish, much to everyone's surprise. Could it be these beings were slowly learning to communicate with them? " _Now make-... uhmm… li-n-e… line!"_

Once the Inklings had lined up, it was just like it had been on the first day: The white coated Ancients selected their favorites from the line one by one. Some received a thorough examination before being put in either group. " _Go._ " Myo heard them speak once they finished observing each individual.

The Ancient sent Myo to the side rather quickly before giving Psid a longer examination. He gave a confused look initially, turning him around to see the scab on his back, frowning. Psid whined and struggled a little when the Ancient touched the gash in his flesh.

"P-Psid, be careful." Myo watched the display. She gave warning to prevent Psid from angering the Ancient.

After pausing to give the two of them a confused look, the Ancient resumed observing the specimen. " _Go._ " he said after finishing his inspection, directing Psid off to the group opposite to Myo.

He immediately grew concerned, looking to Myo for help. "Just go. We'll be together again soon. Try to relax, okay?" She encouraged him.

Psid silently nodded and turned away.

X

A hot sun hung over the city as usual. Since she was taken outside again Myo figured that Psid was in the testing group. This was fortunate, since he desperately needed some time to rest. Myo noticed that the air of silence that had loomed over the crowd had followed her outside, some of the Inklings groaned when they realized they would return to manual labor.

The holes dug over the last few days were being filled in with concrete, instead the Inklings were given a different task. They actually had someone directly explain what to do with a few basic words from Inklish. " _Put tree in truck._ " an Ancient said. At least Myo could only assume that's what he said; his pronunciation was awful.

After a walk into the small forest just outside Inkopolis they worked together on what they were assigned. Psid would have never been able to do this. Myo worked with another Inkling, a girl taller than her, and presumably older. "At least it's a nice day out, huh?" she said.

"I suppose. At least it is not raining." Myo responded making friendly conversation.

"You suppose? It has to nicer than being in one of those tiny rooms, huh?" the girl asked.

"It is." she nodded, reaching down in preparation to lift the chopped tree log. The smell of the woodland air revitalized Myo, clearing her mind. It was almost sweet smelling. In the distance motors could be heard, the sound of machinery sawing down the forest echoed.

"I'm Pata. You?" She grinned.

"Myo." a return smile.

X

Myo looked and saw that there were significantly more guards than yesterday, armed not with whips, but with their death-bringing weapons. With there being a distinct temptation to try to escape through the foliage, the Ancients had likely figured someone would try to do so, and took the necessary precautions.

For a few hours they worked. Though tiresome and boring, Myo was glad to at least have someone to talk to.

"So, have you noticed something strange about the ship?" Pata said with no context, expecting Myo to know what she was talking about.

"What do you mean?" she lifted her end of the log as the girl lifted hers, it was heavy. Myo would have preferred it they worked in threes. They tossed it into the growing pile of tree logs in the back of the truck next to them.

"You know. It's always got fresh air." Pata glanced around, making sure no Ancients overheard her. Myo raised an eyebrow.

"Do you mean they leave the exit open over night?" Myo asked, concerned. "You think we can escape through it?"

"Huh? That-... You're missing the point. The ship is huge! No windows! Nothing! How can one open door keep the whole thing filled with breathable air? I'll tell you: it doesn't." Pata gazed around her. "Something else must keep the air fresh. Another way out. That's what I think."

Myo thought about this as Pata continued speaking in a grunt as they lifted another log.

"You ever given one of those cells a good look? It's real small and airtight. We should have all suffocated in them, but we haven't." Pata's face was shining with confidence that her logic was correct.

"Even if we could get out… where would we go?" Myo's voice a quiet bubbly murmur. "We will just get caught again. It's pointless."

"Huh? You don't know that. It could work..." Pata visibly lost some of her enthusiasm.

"You're right. I don't know. But I _do_ know that things wouldn't be very pretty if they caught you trying to sneak out." Myo furthered her argument.

"What's your problem? You like it here?" Pata accused.

"Of course not!" Myo responded.

"Then what is it? We've got nothing to lose. C'mon what do you say, huh? We gotta find a way out." she offered again.

"I can't." Myo looked down. "I do have something to lose. And I need to make sure he stays safe. A risky escape attempt isn't going to help him."

"Huh? 'They a friend?" Pata asked. Myo responded with a nod. "Your lucky…"

X

Once they had finished their task of moving the lumber, they all had been moved back to the site in front of the ship to assist with basic construction. Myo could speak with Pata no longer as the Inklings were separated into individuals. The remainder of the day was silence for Myo until it had grown dark. An Ancient demanded attention with more use of the squid language. " _Back home!_ " was what he said.

"That would be splatastic. But I guess he means 'back to the ship'. " Myo mumbled to herself, she would never call this place 'home'.

They were herded back aboard the ship and into the usual space for feeding. As soon as she entered the room, Myo looked around for Psid. It seemed his division had not yet returned. With nothing else to do but eat while waiting for his arrival, she did exactly that.

X

Myo had been waiting for what felt like hours, her group had long since finished eating, and the Ancients were already preparing to guide them back to the prison. This fact had not gone unnoticed by the other Inklings in the crowd, some of whom voiced their concerns openly.

" _Erehw si eht ecneics maet? Tahw erew yeht gniog ot od htiw meht yadot?_ " an Ancient grew frustrated with the growing hostility of the crowd.

" _Na evisnetxe yduts fo ygoloib. Ton erus tahw taht snaem._ " Another ancient grew irritated.

Myo kept her concerns inward, though she had a distinct feeling of dread overwhelming her senses. She needed to see Psid, to know that he was okay. Her heart increasing in tempo every minute he did not arrive.

Everyone went silent once the huge door to the room slid open, making way for the other Inkling group to finally reunite with the crowd. Myo gave a sigh of relief and immediately sought to find Psid among them. Her worry returned though when she spotted several Inklings entering with bandages over bloodied wounds. She searched frantically but there was no sign of Psid anywhere.

Asking around in desperation, Myo found that the Ancients had tested various things about their anatomy. Apparently Psid was not the only Inkling missing either, several others had been noted missing from the group. As for what had happened to these cases, nobody knew. The thought occurred to Myo, a terrifying possibility: perhaps he had been dissected?

Myo decided to question the Ancients directly, figuring they had learned basic Inklish, they could not pretend to not know what she said anymore. "Some of us are missing! Where are they?" Myo gurgled at the intimidating figures.

They said nothing in response, though one of them signaled for the Inklings to be returned to their cells.

"I said: Where are they?" Myo repeated, clearly being ignored. All around Inklings looked at the situation between her and the Ancients, some approached her in support.

The Ancients began shoving, pushing the squids out the door and into the halls. " _Go._ " one of them kept saying.

Myo approached one of the Ancients closer, tugging at his clothes. "What have you done with them?"

" _Go._ " he said, pointing away. Myo did not move, she instead balled up her fists in anger. " _Go!_ " he repeated. Eager to restore peace by striking fear into her, his face grew into annoyance at Myo's indignation. He kicked her away gently, but Myo quickly stood again and resumed her resistance.

"Where is _-_ Uhg!?" This time the Ancient kicked her back with force. Myo clutched her gut, completely winded from the blow. It was like she had been hit by a being made of solid stone.

She was dragged to safety by her fellow Inklings. They helped her to her feet but advised her not to pressure the Ancients further at risk of serious harm coming to her.

X

The walk back to the cells was longer than usual, once inside and alone. Myo dropped to the floor in tears, defeated. How could she know if Psid was alright? Her mind assumed the worst, but her heart refused to accept it.

A bizarre sensation, the smell of lumber, fresh air. Myo's thoughts became focused for a moment, looking to see the source of the outside scent. She would not have noticed had Pata not mentioned it to her. A steel vent hung on the ceiling, large bolts permanently wielding it in place. Air was coming in directly from outside.

X

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"I think you know perfectly well why I'm here, friend."

"You dare call me 'friend' after what you did to me!? Forget it! Leave or else I won't be able to hold myself back!"

"Take a look around you! You are doomed without my help! They will soon come here. They will find you."

" _You_ look around! We are doomed as is! We may as well let them come and speed up the process."

"I see that. I've come to correct that wrong."

"Why should I trust you? What's keeping you from stabbing me in the back again!?"

"Him."

"Wh-what? What is _he_ doing here!? You're not actually going to…"

"I am. I mean it. What do you say, old friend?"

"..."

A/N: I'm going to be honest... I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter. Hopefully it's still good regardless. The next ones should be better and easier to write.

And what you've all been waiting for… Trivia! I know! I'm excited too! The name "Pata" comes from the Patagonian squid, which is a species of squid.


	4. Chapter 4

Several times they fled. Fearful of the giant beings and their death-bringing weapons, the Inklings had no other option but to retreat. The mysterious invaders advanced almost casually through the streets, nothing could even touch them. Bursts of hellish flames erupting, claiming the lives of any unfortunate soul in its path.

"W-we can't stop them! We need to get out of here!" Myo called out over the sound of the battle.

"We can't let them get any further! The plaza is just ahead!" Humbo responded. The plaza housed The Great Zapfish, prized possession of the Inklings, and supplier of all electricity in the city.

Though the monsters were out of sight now, somehow it did not stop them from continuing their fire; the range of their weapons seemed infinite. Any who did not find sufficient cover would be hit. The only indication of when this happened was a brief shriek or gurgling sound from the victim. Myo could only imagine the pain such a horrible death would bring, and found herself terrified of sharing such a fate. No goodbyes, no farewells, only agony and then nothing.

She along with Humbo and Molly kept their heads low, again setting the thick layer of inked turf in front of them. While such a defense would slow the advance of Octarians, this new threat seemed almost unaffected by the ink.

"I-I wanna go home!" Molly was losing it. "I don't wanna die!"

"Stay focused! We need to keep our cool!" Humbo tried to rally Molly back her senses.

"K-keep our cool!? We're gonna die! We're gonna die! Die! I'm gonna be dead!" Molly cried as she spoke, certainly not helping the morale of those around her.

"Their in range! Launch the fireworks!" an Inkling commanded. Many other Inklings loaded ink-strike attacks in response, which promptly launched up into the air and dropped down hitting their mark directly. The resulting flurry of tornado-like explosions consumed the invaders completely. "Booyah! That'll learn 'em!"

Everyone cheered at the display, but once the blasts had died down, everyone stopped in awe. The invaders had taken no harm from the massive attack. They simply shook off the ink from their bodies and resumed their forward advance.

"Wh-what!? That-! There's just no way! That didn't even phase them!? C'mon!" Humbo protested at the hopelessness of the situation.

The Great Zapfish had been watching the whole scenario play out from his view coiled around the Inkopolis tower. His blank expression showed no signs of understanding, but in reality he fully analyzed the battle as one with no hope of victory. Releasing his grip, he slithered down the side of the building, his massive body sending out a shock wave as he touched the ground. He quickly vanished behind the towers of the city and out of view.

Myo continued to shoot out from behind her cover, though at this point she knew it was useless. While the few hundred invaders were horribly outnumbered by the several thousand Inklings, they proved themselves impervious to even the mightiest of Squid weaponry. Realizing this, most of the defining Inklings had finally decided to flee entirely; running for their lives. Meanwhile the mysterious invaders continued their leisurely stroll forward, shooting the deserters in the back.

Humbo was not as easily deterred. Charging another shot, he poked his head out from behind his cover and released it's stored power, skillfully hitting his target. It did nothing. "Dammit! Maybe you're right. I think it's time we got out of here."

"Yes!" Myo nodded. "C'mon, Molly."

"Y-yeah... We going now." Molly stuttered, some level of sanity returned to her at this display of common sense.

Myo tugged at Humbo's shirt just as he was about to jump out from behind his cover and flee. "Are you crazy!? They are too close now! They'll get us for sure!"

"Well… what else are we going to do!?" Humbo questioned.

After a quick look around Myo spotted the blank side of a nearby building. "Up there! Shoot a charge shot, we can give them the slip by climbing up. We won't even need to leave cover to get over there!" she strategized.

"Right!" After nodding in understanding, Humbo readied his charged shot and aimed for the top of the building. The blast left a long trail of orange dripping down the wall. After waking up Molly from her confused trance, the three friends transformed and sunk into the ink at their feet; swiftly making their way up the wall.

Myo saw one of the giants below glance up at them, he saw the trail they left in their vertical swimming through the ink. He lifted up what looked like an Inkzooka. Considering they had not used ink weaponry thus far, Myo could only assume that this device was capable of damage much worse.

"Hurry! It looks like they-!" Myo's warning was much too late. After a loud whistling noise there was only a bright flash within her vision.

Falling through the blinding light Myo screamed, the rush of air was her only sense of up or down. She knew what would happen next, but at the same time did not. A pit of fire beneath her, it's heat radiating on to her. Searing pain as she made the plunge.

X

The light came on in Myo's cell, waking her from the pains of sleep. Although this was no relief, for once she remembered her waking life, she recognized it was equally as horrible if not worse. And now Psid was not even at her side, keeping her company and giving her a purpose.

With the steel door swinging open Myo stepped out into the crowd, but Psid did not step out from the cell across from hers. She wholly blamed herself for his disappearance. She had taken it upon herself to protect him, and this was the result of her ultimate failure. Though she was in a group, she was alone.

X

Breakfast was quiet. Some of the Inklings, the ones covered in bloody rags from their treatment the day prior, needed assistance from others in order to eat their food. Some even lacked the strength to lift themselves up to the seat of the chairs. Myo could not help but remember how Psid struggled to move after sustaining his injuries.

Tears of anger, but mostly sadness rolled down her cheeks, an immense weight corrupted her mind. She had no way of knowing if Psid was okay, only the assumption that he was not. If he truly had died, what had it been like? Did he die easy and painlessly, blissful until he was gone? Or had it been long and drawn out, his screams of agony crying for mercy which these heartless beasts did not give him? Did his pitiful form weep at the realization that his life was over? Did he think of her before dying, wishing to be with her in his last moments? Did he blame her for his death?

Myo was frozen in place, in a daze separate from the world around her. She was lost within her own thoughts. She did not even eat despite her hunger.

The time came for the Inklings to leave the room and return to work. Without even touching her food Myo lifted herself up, wiping away her tears. She was prepared to become an empty soul, a living tool with no purpose but to serve until her demise.

X

Lead out into the warm sunlight, the Inklings resumed their construction work. The Ancients had them move large carts full of rubble. Apparently they had begun digging for resources. Myo let herself work without rest, hoping it would help her it to forget the feelings of despair plaguing her mind. Unfortunately It didn't, and she remained constantly distracted by her foggy vision.

Seeing her slow down occasionally to wipe her face, an Ancient made himself known to her by approaching menacingly. Myo shot a look of death at him. He recognized it with a growl. " _Elttil tsep! Work!_ " More Inklish, and again there was terrible pronunciation.

Myo rolled her eyes at him rebelliously, to which the Ancient did did not take too kindly.

" _T'nod uoy tcepsersid em!_ " he leaped forward. At this Myo braced herself for a hit, but instead the Ancient grabbed her and spun her around to face away from him. Pushing her down into the dirt, his whip came down several times to burn at her flesh.

Cringing, Myo rolled onto her side to raise a hand and block the next hit. "Uhg! N-no! St-stop!" The next hit was blocked, her forearm taking the entirety of the whip. She let out a bubbly grunt, baring her beak at the pain. The Ancient had not yet finished having his fun, he grabbed her by the collar and pulled her up off her feet. Myo wheezed. "… P-please..."

Even if he had understood her it was unlikely the Ancient would have complied. He forced her to look him in the face, his small eyes were as wide as he could manage, an expression of pure anger, but he soon gave a sadistic smile. " _Uoy era citehtap. A sselhtrow elttil diuqs. Uoy segavas era gnihton derapmoc ot su!_ " He taunted her in that harsh, gross language.

Then the Ancient pulled back his weight and thrust his fist into her jaw, and then again, and again. Myo feebly wriggled to get free from him but it was futile. She cried out in pain briefly after each blow, only to be silenced when the next one came. Finally he threw her back to the ground.

The Ancient then left, satisfied with his work. Myo whimpered, lying in the mud for a short while, regaining the energy required to stand. Other Inklings did not stop to help her, fearing that they might suffer the same fate.

X

The sun beat down on Myo's new injuries, she gasped when she felt a few drops of liquid running down her back. As she began to taste blood in her mouth Myo allowed her hatred to boil up, mixing with her fear, worry, and depression. A dreaded concoction of an emotion formed, a cesspool of negativity. She cried silently as she continued to exert herself. Tiny drops of water and red hitting the soil beneath her. "Bastards."

Suddenly her cart felt lighter. Somebody was helping her to push it. Myo turned briefly to identify who it was, and recognized the face of Pata.

"Hey. Remember me? Huh?" Pata greeted somewhat cheerfully, but she immediately went blank when she saw Myo's state. "You okay?"

It was obvious that she was not. Myo shook her head in response, turning away to glare at the wisps of thought still clawing at her head. Pata moved in closer to better assist in moving the heavy cart Myo pushed.

"What's up, huh?" Pata questioned. "Are you hurt?"

She was, but that was not why Myo was truly hurting. "My friend, he's… gone." Myo said plainly.

There was a silence, Pata seemed to deeply assess the situation based on that one response. "I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yes... Do you really think we can get out of here?" Myo asked in a calm but shaky tone.

Pata gave a shrug, though Myo was not facing her to see it. "I think it might be possible."

"Tell me how." Myo immediately responded. She still had not turned to look Pata in the eyes.

Pata explained the concept of ventilation in large buildings. There always has to be a vent in each room, leading to a complex of tunnels running throughout the ceiling and walls. Most importantly there had to be a fan near the outside, sucking in fresh air. Of course this was not a building, but rather a space ship, one that was certainly not built by Inklings, so the ventilation might not work in the same way.

"That's the only reason I haven't tried it yet, there might be no way out, and it would all be for nothing." Pata finished her explanation. "I probably won't ever try it, 'cause I could end up not finding a way out and dying. And then there's always going to be what you pointed out yesterday. Remember? You said they would just find me again. Know what I mean? Huh?"

"Yeah. I know." Myo said. She offered a smile of appreciation. It was genuine. "I think it's worth a try. Thanks for your help."

"W-wait. You're not actually going to try it are you?" Pata flustered. She had hoped Myo would be able to offer her help at developing the escape plan further.

"I'm going to try it... tonight." Myo declared.

"B-but... I haven't worked out all the kinks yet!" Pata tried to help her reconsider. "Really big kinks! I'm not sure about it yet!"

"Me neither." Myo agreed. "I don't really have anything to lose anymore. If this ends up being the death of me then… I guess that's just the way it will be..."

"Just stay a little longer, okay? The plan will get better! Maybe I'll even get a new idea. You could help!" Pata continued to argue against Myo's decision, but it did not move her.

"I don't think there is much point to it. I'm going to do it." Myo stated it as final. Pata did not argue against her anymore, instead continued to assist Myo with her work.

X

The labor dragged on into the late hours of the day, the sun finally sinking beneath the horizon, giving a beautiful orange hue to the darkening sky. Myo tried to be mindful. It was surreal to think that this might be the last sunset she ever saw. But, she was too focused to truly appreciate it.

The Ancients funneled the Inklings up the ramp and into the ship once more. Myo saw and felt the pain around her. Some fellow Squids limping, clutching a limb, or wheezing in exhaustion. It reminded her as to why she was so dedicated to escaping. Eventually there would be no energy left in the Inklings for the Ancients to squeeze, and there was no telling what would happen once that day came.

"Hey, Myo." Pata nudged at her, getting her attention. "Stay fresh." It was a goodbye, a phrase of good luck.

"Thanks. You stay fresh too." Whatever the result, it would likely be the last time they would ever meet.

X

Supper had been almost as dreary as breakfast had been, the only difference being Myo had eaten. She regretted not eating earlier, but now she would be able to better prepare herself physically for the task at hand.

Now she was in her cell, the lights had gone out. Standing upright in the center of the tiny room, Myo meditated, eyes closed. The only sound was the gentle hum of the fresh air entering through the vent and coming down on her head.

She had been so certain that she was ready to commit to the plan, and she still was, but something urged her to stay. Was it perhaps her instincts to avoid danger? She would try regardless, but it made her question: If she could escape, would it be worth it? Was there anything waiting for her outside? Was she truly prepared to accept death if this resulted in failure? Would it be better if she waited for her life to slowly drain away in this prison?

These thoughts were brushed aside. "No. This is not how life was meant to be." Myo said aloud. It was clear: now was the time.

She craned her neck and reached to touch her back. A small orifice was there under a flap of skin; her ink sac, which had not been used in a long time. Flinching suddenly, Myo jerked her hand away. She had accidentally touched the tender flesh of her wound.

After a pause, Myo dropped to the ground in her squid form, another thing she had not used in days, It was a nostalgic feeling to revert to this rudimentary form. She used her tentacles to lift her maw into the air, viscous orange ink spraying from her sac. It thankfully stuck to the nearby wall, the excess pooling around her on the floor.

X

"Is it ready?"

"You must have forgotten. It has always been ready!"

"Well then. There is really nothing stopping you now is there?"

"Nope. We go as soon as _I_ am ready."

"Wait! We should strategize first!"

"There is no strategy to this. We will simply go in and-"

"You don't know what they are capable of!"

"Actually I do. And _you_ don't know what _I_ am capable of! But don't worry… You will soon see."

"Shouldn't we at least wait until the right moment to surprise them?"

"Are you even looking at this thing!? Besides, whether they know we are coming or not makes no difference."

"If you say so…"

"... Care to join me?"

"Up there!? I-it's a little high don't you think?"

"Don't be a baby."

A/N: We are getting close to the ending here I'm sorry to say. I hope you are as excited as I am!


	5. Chapter 5

The lighting of the hallway was dimmed, but it's faint artificial yellow peeked through the small window into Myo's cell, giving her some level of vision. With the wall inked, it would be easy for her to swim up it and reach for the vent above her. She felt somewhat refreshed to be able to swim again. It was a tight squeeze, but the openings in the grate were just large enough for her squid body to fit through.

"Well, at least that worked." Myo muttered to herself as she resurfaced as a bipedal Inkling. In the morning the Ancients would find the mess of orange in her room and would likely be very perplexed as to what happened.

Now standing in the ceiling above her room, she beheld a cylindrical tunnel reaching out over the hallway. It was actually large enough for her to stand upright. Surprisingly enough it was not pitch black inside the vent, light filtered through the grates lining the bottom, allowing the lit halls to be seen from above.

Myo took a step forward and immediately regretted it; the sound of her foot contacting the metal plating of the ventilation echoed for a good few seconds, resonating into depths she did not intend. "Damn…!" She quietly cringed.

After a moment of hesitation she took another step, but this time much more delicately. She made sure she did not make the slightest sound with each further step, bringing herself to the shaft above the hallway.

'Now which way?' Myo thought, as she was now presented with a maze worth of options. Her moist skin began to shiver, the cool fresh air flooded by her. She decided to wander, figuring she had nothing else to do, and if there was an exit, she would find it eventually.

Myo did not get far before she heard voices, harsh and deep. Had she made too much noise and drawn the attention of the Ancients? She held her breath. Peering down at the hallway beneath her she saw two Ancients come down the hall, one of them armed.

" _Erehw era yeht neht?_ " They spoke to one another. " _Siht eno?_ " one gestured to one of the prison cells.

" _Siht si a sselesu eno, ereh._ "

'What are they doing?' Myo silently observed, confused. 'They don't need to be here.'

" _Tahw sah ti enod niaga?_ " They opened the cell, a rather tall, though wounded, Inkling boy awoke. Despite his impressive height he was still dwarfed next to the Ancients. He was clearly startled, glancing up at the towering Ancients as if he were surrounded by demons, which he may as well have been.

" _Erom fo a rettam fo tahw ti t'nac od. S'it oot kaew ot krow. Uoy tsum evah nees ti yadot. Citehtap. Ew t'nod deen siht eno._ "

Then they struck. They moved so fast Myo could barely make out what happened. One Ancient thrust his weight down on top of the boy, strangling him and covering his mouth with one hand to keep him silent. The other Ancient then moved in, binding the boy's arms and legs with the same cuffs and electrified collar they had used to secure every Inkling on the ship. Once he was completely restrained and gagged, they lifted him up and dragged him down the hall.

" _Siht eno oot. Ti sah ton neeb gnitteg gnihtyna enod_." They stopped by another cell, barging it open causing it's one resident to scream. They quickly silenced her with a solid kick to the head, causing the girl to collapse unconscious. Myo gasped at the sickening sound of the blow.

" _Ssabmud! Peek siht teiuq. Uoy tnaw eht elohw nosirp kcolb gnikaw pu?_ " They bickered before binding and lifting the girl up. The chained boy attempted a muffled scream in response. " _Shut up. Sselnu uoy tnaw ot nioj ruoy dneirf._ "

They then made their way back to where they came from, carrying their new luggage. 'Where are they taking them!?' Myo's head hammered. What could the Ancients possibly want with two crippled Inklings in the middle of the night? She followed them, able to see them well enough by looking down through the grates.

Myo made her steps swift and easy, she needed make sure they did not hear her, but also not to let them out speed her. To her luck they did not seem to take notice of her footsteps, too bothered by the one limp, and one struggling body they dragged with them.

Finally the two Ancients stepped from the halls and through a door. Myo found a small crawl space leading above the room they entered, there was an odd scent coming from it. She slid through it and got an overhead of the room, it was lined with stained technology of unknown nature, with a table in the middle.

" _Er'uoy kcab._ " there was a third Ancient in with the others. He seemed to be one of the white coated ones.

The two Inklings they collected were both thrown into a corner. Then Myo saw something certainly unexpected, surprising and relieving her to such a degree that she almost yelped. " _Psid…!_ " she whispered, containing her urge to cry out.

Psid was there, chained up like the boy and girl the Ancients had just brought in with them. Myo could hardly believe it was him, excitement filled her body, causing it to shake with anticipation. There was nothing in the world she wouldn't give to able to stealthily communicate with him. 'I found you! Don't worry, I'm going to get you out of there!'

Then she focused her energy on the Ancients, pure loathing seeped from her breath. There was no question about it: She would not leave without Psid, her escape would have to wait. But in such close proximity to several of the monsters, liberating him would prove challenging to say the least. There was not much to do but wait and hope some the Ancients cleared out.

They began talking among themselves as the one armed Ancient left the room. 'At least I won't have to deal with him.' but regardless, Myo shifted her weight with unease.

The Inkling boy began screaming from behind his gag, his body thrashed in pain. He had tried to transform, which would have allowed him to slip free of his binds, but the pain of electrocution was too much, Myo knew from experience. Psid silently stared at him, frozen stiff.

" _Shut up! Uoy evah ot ekam os hcum esion?_ " One of the Ancients shouted at the boy's futile effort to escape. He approached and bent down over the boy, flaunting his superior height. " _Ew t'nerew gniog ot trats htiw uoy. Tub ecnis er'uoy os neek no gniyonna em…_ "

The giant easily lifted the boy up with one arm, and hoisted him on to the table. He forced the Inkling down onto his belly against his sad attempts at breaking free. 'Now what!?' Myo's body tightened further at the mistreatment.

" _Nac ew teg no htiw siht?_ " The white coat nodded in agreement and began to shuffle through some drawers, the gentle clink of small metal utensils could be heard. Psid diverted his gaze to the floor.

Finally the white clad Ancient found what he was looking for, lifting a large cleaver into the air. As it's surface glistened against the light, the Ancient turned to the restrained boy and whispered " _You look tasty._ "

'Wait... What did he just say?!' Myo's curiosity immediately died out at what happened next. The cleaver's edge came down on to the Inkling boy's neck, severing his head from his shoulders. The torso twitched sharply, confused as to why it had lost contact with the brain. Nausea welled up in Myo's throat, she covered her mouth, trying to hold back her vomit. Yet her eyes did not leave the spurts of red gushing from the new stump atop the boy's body.

The two Ancients were so nonchalant about their butchery, unflinching the whole way through. Looks of boredom marking their faces, disrespecting the life they had just taken.

Horror overwhelmed Myo, tears poured out of her eyes, her muscles went numb. She watched the vile creatures lift up the head and toss it aside into the trash. From there they removed the limbs in the same way they had the head, organizing them neatly next to eachother. They then continued to mutilate the body by chopping it into smaller segments, peeling away torn shreds of clothing. This was not a sight that Myo would ever forget, but rather one that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

With the boy in pieces they scrapped the bloody remains onto a steel tray, placing it over one of the contraptions to the side. A ring of blue flame erupted from the device, licking at the underside of the tray. The chopped flesh began to sizzle and bubble up, it's moisture collecting against a nearby wall. In that moment Myo realized what would happen once the Inklings no longer proved useful to the Ancients: They would be eaten.

" _Teg eht txen eno._ " the Ancient spewed, the other turned to the corner where the Psid and the unconscious girl lay. Psid glanced up at him and immediately turned away, not making a sound. The girl was then lifted up and dropped on the table. She was not restrained since she was already out cold. The cleaver was raised overhead, this time Myo shut her eyes, not daring to look. All she could sense was the sound of meat being hacked into pieces. She fought against the sickness in her stomach, the smell of both gore and cooked squid wafting up into the vent for her to breathe in.

With the second dismembered corpse gathered onto another tray and placed next to the first, the white coated Ancient signaled " _Eht tsal eno._ " Now they turned to Psid.

'No! They can't!' She had to do something, otherwise they would tear Psid apart, destroy him in the most brutal way she could now conceive.

The Ancient reached for Psid, who whimpered and shuffled his way further back into the corner. " _Deracs era uoy?_ " the Ancient chuckled at Psid's helplessness. " _Ev'ew tpek uoy gnitiaw rof oot gnol. I'm hungry. C'mon!_ " He grabbed Psid's collar and dragged him into a better position to lift him up.

" _Get away from him!_ " Myo exploded. She transformed and dropped down into the room through the grate. She growled at the titans before her, trying to look as intimidating as possible. They did not look scared, but they certainly looked surprised. They stared at her in disbelief like confused statues.

"Mmhp!?" Psid managed from behind his gag. He was equally as shocked.

"Don't worry, Psid!" Myo reassured him.

" _Tahw eht kcuf!?_ " the Ancients finally spoke. " _Woh eht lleh..!?_ " They dropped Psid, who fell limply to the floor, all turning their full attention to Myo.

" _How did you get here?_ " the two of them then shouted at each other for a moment before returning to face her. " _Revetahw, ew lliw erugif ti out retal."_

" _You ready to die? Squid tastes better_ _ **fresh**_ _!"_ They approached, their menacing forms began to eclipse the light on the ceiling.

Myo had no options, she probably should have thought this out more, but her desire to protect Psid drove her into this impossible position. Taking a step back into the wall, Myo's feral instincts kicked in, she did the only thing she could do: Dropping to her squid form she shot a large blast of ink at both their faces.

Their deep voices shrieked at the attack, they clawed at their eyes and stumbled back, both of them tripping and falling. " _Ahhg! Ym seye!_ " they called. " _You will die! You wi- Kcuf!_ "

Realizing her defense had been successful, Myo rushed to Psid's side, removing the gag from his mouth so he could speak as well as helping him to his feet.

"Myo! What are you doing here!?" Psid gasped once the gag was free.

"I'm saving you! C'mon!" Myo again transformed and fired an ink trail up the wall so she could re enter the vent. "This way!"

She sunk into the ink expecting Psid to follow. "Myo, I can't…" Myo turned back, realizing her stupidity. Psid still wore the electrified chains and collar, his hands still bound behind his back. He could not transform and could not swim up the ink to safety.

"Damn!" Myo cursed. She quickly looked around, but saw no other escape options. She began to grab uselessly at Psid's binds "We have to get you out of these!"

"How?" Psid asked.

"U-um..! Y-you have to transform! There's no other way!" Myo stated. A slippery and flexible squid form would easily slip free.

"B-but… I can't" Psid repeated. "It will hurt too much!"

"You have to! Psid, please!" Myo grabbed at the collar. "I'll help. If you can transform, it will be over right away!"

"O-okay." Psid agreed.

Immediately he began screaming in pain. Myo, holding onto the collar, yelped as well. The sting of electricity surged its way through both of them, their muscles losing feeling and control. Psid stopped attempting the transformation and the agony was relieved.

"Uhg! … Psid… y-ou ha-... to keep try-..." Myo's breath was lost, falling to her knees, but not letting go of the collar. Psid fell forward, his weight leaning against Myo, panting. "I'm right here… C'mon you have to transform…"

" _Ahhhg! I lliw llik uoy!_ " one of the blinded Ancients managed his way to his feet, but still unable to see, he began feeling his way around.

The pain returned, Psid not having enough strength to cry out this time. He managed a semi transformed state. Fighting against the shock, Myo tugged the collar free and fell limp as soon as it was off. With it removed, Psid was able to transform completely and slip free of his cuffs.

"I'm out!" Psid exclaimed. "Where do we go?"

"This wa-!" The standing Ancient found Myo and grabbed her by the throat, his face still covered in the orange goo. His eyes were squeezed shut, accompanied by his bared teeth.

With her in his grasp, he slammed her against the first wall he bumped into, choking her with all his mighty power. His grip crushed her flimsy windpipe as Myo clawed at his hand in desperation. The Ancient's free fist began to connect with Myo's face, nothing held back.

" _Die! Die! Di- Ahhg!"_ Psid bit at the Ancient's leg, his beak digging deep into the calf. With his leg weakened the Ancient dropped to the floor, but he did not relinquish his grip on Myo. Psid then bit into his forearm. After another cry of pain the Ancient finally released Myo, who breathed noisily, air finally returning to her lungs.

"Myo! Are you okay!?" Psid shrieked, the taste of Ancient blood in his mouth.

Myo coughed and gasped in between as red began pouring from her nose. "W-we need to get out of here."

Psid nodded and he transformed once more, swimming up the ink Myo had placed and squeezing his way into the vent. Myo summoned what energy she had left to follow him.

A/N: Alright so… Splatfest happened and that kind of distracted me from finishing this chapter sooner. Also, I originally thought this would be the last chapter. But I apparently still have a lot to get written down; enough for another chapter.

By the way, can you believe I had no breaks in this chapter? What's up with that, huh?


	6. Chapter 6

"Can you believe it? We now have sufficient power! And now after a hundred years of waiting and it will reawaken at last!"

"I can't believe I'm excited about it."

"Oh, c'mon! Don't be like that! After all: this was _your_ idea."

"..."

"By the way: You might want to cover your ears."

"Why?"

"You'll find out."

X

Myo and Psid did not bother to stay light on their feet. They traveled through the air ducts blindly, they had no idea where they were going, but at least they were able to gain some distance from that accursed room.

Myo's head pounded and spun, she would occasionally almost trip over her own feet. She figured the powerful strikes the Ancient had delivered to her head must have given her a concussion. Finally she collapsed, breathing heavily. She had far to little strength to continue running at such a pace.

"M-Myo! You're hurt!" Psid dropped to her side. Myo lifted her head to focus on his face, he wore an expression of extreme alarm.

"Don't worry about me… I'm just happy you're alive…" She gave the best smile she could before wincing in pain. The damage her worn body had sustained over the last few days now collectively attacked her at once. Myo blinked, shook her head, tried to shake herself free of the persistent dizziness. A few drops of blood made their way out her nose and mouth.

"You're hurt! Really hurt!" Psid lifted her up off her belly and on to her knees. He started crying, unable to stand the sight of his guardian angel, his best friend, so badly wounded.

Myo turned to face Psid and embraced him, holding the smaller Inkling as if he were her own child. "I thought I lost you…" Psid continued weeping in response. They were finally together again, Myo could not remember feeling more relief in her entire life. Tears of both physical pain and happiness ran down her face.

"You didn't need to save me… You could have died along with me…"

"No. I _had_ to save you…" The two sat in the darkness for a time, the only sound that could be heard was each other's breath, as well as the cold rush of air. Then they heard shouting, the roar of a monster. The voice of the Ancient carried through the halls, perfectly audible despite the distance they had managed.

"I hate them." Psid said outright. Myo internally cringed at hearing him declare hatred. At his age he should be innocent to the existence of such an intense emotion.

"You actually managed to hurt him. Did you see? I thought they were invincible." Myo explained. The idea of a vulnerable Ancient was a bizarre one. "Psid… we should go. We're going to find a way out."

"R-really? We can do that?" Psid sniffled.

"I'm not sure, but... we have to try." Myo began struggling to stand, her legs wobbled. Psid gave what support he could, but he was not in much better shape. The two began stumbling through the shaft, slowly but steadily. "I think we should go upwind. It will lead us to where the air is coming from, I think."

"But what do we do if they find us?" Psid began to panic. "They're gonna eat us!"

"Quiet!" Myo hushed him. "Someone's coming!"

The Ancient that Psid had bit limped in from around the corner, the orange ink still marked his face forcing one eye shut, but the other was open. He was holding a small death-weapon in one of his hands.

"It's him..!" Psid quietly distressed.

"I guess he's mad about what we did…" Myo chuckled darkly. "He's probably looking for us…"

The Ancient growled looking up through the grates on the ceiling above him, moving in closer to Myo and Psid's position.

"Get up against the wall…" Myo whispered, and Psid obeyed unquestionably. They pressed their bodies up against the side of the shaft in attempt to stay out of view.

The Ancient scoffed. " _Where are you… I know you are here… You stink… I smell you_..." he spoke calmly, almost soothingly. Every second step he took caused him to wince a bit. " _Emoc ereh uoy srekcuf…_ "

He passed just beneath them, not noticing the two squids cowering in fear. Myo signaled Psid to carefully follow her once the Ancient was out of earshot from them, and they slowly began to increase the distance.

"You think he wants to eat us?" Psid asked.

"C'mon." Myo ignored the question. It was clear this being wanted them dead. Eating them would just be insult to injury.

X

The night waded on, the two exhausted Inklings explored the ship traveling upwind. The tunnels seemed endless. Myo's head hurt, the weight of her fatigue held up by her fear-induced adrenaline. She dropped to her knees again, shook away the blurry colors assaulting her vision, and was soon back to her feet again.

"Myo... You're really hurt. I can tell..." though she stood on her own, Psid was again at her side. "I think we should stop until you're feeling better."

"I won't feel better until both of us are safe. We can't linger here." Myo groaned. Psid completely trusted her judgement, yet he felt apprehension for what would become of her; she was in such a weak state.

As they rounded another corner, a luminous hue caught their eye, light reflected off the metallic surfaces of the ventilation. It was reminiscent of moonlight.

"Is it-..?" Psid gasped.

Myo's heart fluttered as they drew nearer to the odd light. She noticed how it flickered to a rhythm, a large fan spun in front of the source sucking in fresh forest air. Peering through the opening, large green trees and foliage lie beyond, the full moon illuminating the scene. She was speechless, her mouth hung open in disbelief.

"W-we made it? C'mon let's go!" Psid quietly exclaimed, skipping forwards.

"Psid, wait! The fan." Myo warned.

"Oh." Psid now felt very stupid, he had been so excited he almost ran right into a spinning fan blade. It would have easily dismembered him if Myo hadn't alerted him to it. He chuckled.

Once she had caught up with him, Myo transformed into a squid and pressed out a puddle of ink. The liquid seeped its way underneath the fan and onto the other side. Without hesitation the two of them sunk into the ink and easily slipped beneath the spinning hazard and emerged victorious on the other side. Only a grate stood between them and the green grass. They did not even need ink for this obstacle, fitting through with ease.

"Amazing… Pata's plan worked..." Myo said to herself, standing as a biped again. She whirled around at the trees and at the white orb that hung over the planet, a few stars twinkled and swirled creating a veil. "C'mon, let's get out of here before they come looking for us!"

Psid nodded with an ecstatic grin which Myo promptly returned. The two dashed out into the foliage. Their stamina was revitalized with their excitement, though Myo still felt weary, stopping to catch her breath after a while as Psid ran a short distance ahead.

Now stoic and gathering her energy to rejoin Psid, Myo got a closer look at the plant life around her. They were unlike any she had ever seen, similar but undeniably different. Even the grass did not match her memory, as if it had appeared out of some prehistoric age. She now realized that she felt no breath of wind, heard no sound of rustling leaves or singing birds.

"It can't be… Are we still inside the ship?" Myo gasped.

"U-um… Myo?" Psid hopped back into view.

"W-we must be outside! There's no way!" Myo exclaimed, beginning to panic.

"There's a big wall over there. It looks like the one we came out of." Psid explained, leading Myo toward it. She approached the wall, and her eye followed its side and watched it curve in a huge circle around them. They were in a large circular room; a greenhouse.

"Dammit..." Myo said uselessly. They were still in danger, and were completely exposed, standing out in the open. If an Ancient came they would be spotted immediately. "Psid! We need to go!" She sensed danger looming over them.

"M-Myo…" Psid whimpered as Myo grabbed his hand and began searching around. They needed out of this room before someone came.

"There!" She spotted a reachable grate and began to tug Psid into running behind her.

Then there was a sharp bang, the shock of the sound caused them both to freeze. A chill ran down Myo's back. " _Ereht uoy era…_ " a deep shaky voice. " _I knew you would come here… Uoy thguoht uoy dluoc teg out t'ndid uoy? Now you are all mine… Nobody will save you..._ "

The speaker emerged out from behind a tree. He wore a relaxed and confident face, both eyes now recovered from Myo's ink defense. The Ancient raised up his small death-weapon, pointing it at the two escapees. Death stared them in the face. Neither of them could speak at this, Psid began to cry, his spirit was broken.

" _Do not try anything…_ " the Ancient spoke again, limping towards them. Myo created a meat-shield in front of Psid, standing between him and the Ancient. A cold wave of energy filled her; she would protect Psid even if it meant her life.

"Psid…" she whispered. "Psid, run…"

"W-what?"

"Run… get to the vent… get out of here…"

"W-what about you?"

"Run… don't stop… I'll catch up… I promise."

"B-but…"

"I promise."

The Ancient now stood only a few feet away from them. He smiled ear to ear, pondering the best way to torture them. Who to kill first? Who will watch the other suffer and fade? Which one will witness the light leave their friend's eyes?

"Go now!" Myo yelled. Psid stumbled into a sprint, running as fast as his bipedal form could manage. The Ancient growled as he reared his head and pointed the weapon at the fleeing boy, but Myo did not let him fire. Leaping towards the Ancient she latched on to his arm and allowed her weight to pull his aim away from Psid and down into the ground. The crack of the weapon echoed, missing the boy it was intended for and the Ancient groaned as he was forced to apply pressure to his wounded leg.

Dropping to his knees in order to relieve the pain in his leg, the Ancient threw his free hand at Myo but failed to release the grip she had on his arm. She then moved in and bit down into his hand. The weapon fired again but it was pointed at nothing due to Myo's interference. The Ancient used his superior strength to violently thrust his weight in random directions to shake Myo free. When he did, he lifted his liberated arm to take aim at Psid, who was still obediently fleeing the scene.

A shot rang out and Myo saw Psid drop flat to the ground. " _Psid!_ " Myo's very blood froze over, she screamed in horror. Her heart, her mind her everything cried out in sorrow. Nothing had meaning without him, nothing mattered, her soul weeped at the sight of Psid's unmoving form. The Ancient simply stood up once more victorious. " _You bastard!_ "

Myo threw herself at him like a wild animal. But the creature was prepared for the attack this time and purposely fired a shot at one of her non-vital areas. The pain was instant and pierced her gut, the sheer force of whatever had hit her actually was enough to knock her down. As the first tears began to pool on her face, a trail of red began to exit from her stomach. She gave what effort she could but failed to lift herself off her back.

" _Uoy yllautca truh em uoy elttil rekcuf!_ " the Ancient shouted, walking away from Myo, who now groveled in agony, and towards Psid. " _Oh! Look! He is not dead yet!_ "

Myo's eyes shot open. The pain was gone, phased out of her mind by the more important thing at hand. Though she still could not move, she turned to look at Psid. The Ancient lifted him up by the wrist and Psid hung seemingly lifeless in his grip. But he wheezed faintly, clinging to life. "P-Psid..!"

The Ancient then carried Psid back towards Myo, dangling the boy over where she lay. " _Since you like biting so much… let me see what squid tastes like raw!_ "

"No! Please! Leave him alone! I beg you!" Myo pleaded but was ignored. The Ancient eyed the small fingers protruding from Psid's hand, and dozens of sharp teeth became visible. "No! Don't hurt him!"

Jaws came down like scissors on to Psid's digits, the young boy resuscitated at the stimuli and screamed. Excruciating pain ran it's way through him as the Ancient dug his fangs deeper into the flesh. Psid's free limbs flailed uselessly, his whole body thrashing to escape.

" _No! Please stop!_ " A final terrible cry as audible pops and tearing of tendon sounded, the Ancient pulled free two of Psid's fingers. Blood oozed from the mutilated hand, dripping down to land on Myo's face. A few landed in her agape mouth which she instantly shut, almost vomiting at the prospect of having Psid's vital essence in her throat.

" _Setsat ekil tihs!_ " the Ancient growled after spitting the dismembered fingers of to the side as Psid's blood trailed out of the corners of his mouth. Psid panted, coughing misery out of his lungs, giving feeble jittery movements.

Then all around them there was noise, red light flooding the entire room, alarms resonating. The Ancient went rigid at the sound, gazing around visibly annoyed.

" _Ho llew… I sseug ym nuf si revo…_ " Psid writhed around in pain once he had been dropped to the ground next to Myo, clutching his mangled hand. Myo made an effort to contact him, turning over on to one side to reach, though Psid did not notice. The Ancient drew his death-weapon once more. " _I guess I will need to make this quick._ "

Myo braced herself for darkness to envelope her, for a never ending sleep to take her. Then the three of them were thrown into the air, the floor thrust up launching them. Their bodies flew like ragdolls before landing back onto the grass. The Ancient was propelled a good distance away from the two Inklings, landing with a sickening crunch.

" _Ahhg! Tahw eht kcuf!? Ym gel!_ " The Ancient clutched his leg in pain as he tried to stand, deep raspy screams came from him. The wailing sound of metal shook the entire room, accompanied by the still blaring alarms. " _Tihs! Ym nug! S'erew ym nu-!_ "

The floor then dropped out from beneath them, falling a few feet before they could catch up. The room was actually now at a very odd angle with respect to gravity, cocked slightly to one side toppling some trees over. The grinding sound of massive steel bodies colliding could be heard. Something had hit the ship, something big.

Psid cried out as his delicate body was thrust around violently. Myo groaned trying to regain her sense of direction as another rumble tore it's way across the room. She saw Psid, who was in his own separate dimension of pain, as well as the Ancient further away from her who circled his head around in desperation looking for something.

Myo's eyes widened when she spotted it: The small death-weapon the Ancient had used was lying in the grass between her and him. She summoned all her strength to crawl towards it, the pain in her gut drove itself deep into her as she moved.

" _Tihs!_ " the Ancient took notice to her effort towards his firearm, and began to make his own journey to claim it. He seemed to grow a new joint in his foreleg as he tried to stand, shouted in agony and then dropped again.

Myo inched herself closer to the weapon, it was so close. She reached for it, her fingers licking at its hilt and she pulled it in towards her. Though the Ancient had held it with one hand, Myo required both to wield it. She lifted the weapon and took aim at the Ancient as he hoisted himself up. A look of horror struck his face when he saw the device in Myo's grasp. " _Die you bastard!_ "

She pulled the trigger once she was certain it was aimed perfectly. The huge recoil vibrated through her, but she recovered and fired again. Two bursts of red shot out of the Ancient's chest and he fell back. He did not move again. Myo continued pulling the trigger regardless though no further shots came out.

Her anger subsided, and she looked back at Psid as her consciousness slipped away.

X

Myo awoke groggily. She scanned her surroundings, buildings on fire everywhere and the cracking sound of distant combat. Once she remembered where she was she spun around and cried out in distress. "Humbo! Molly!"

"Here…" Humbo's voice sounded uneasy. He was hunched over, and did not look back to greet the now conscious Myo.

"Humbo! You're okay!" Myo got to her feet and began stumbling towards her friend. "Where's Molly?"

"... H-here…" Humbo choked on tears. His tone made Myo's blood run cold. She got close enough to see what it was Humbo sat next to. Molly lay, eyes half open and lifeless, a pillow of red liquid created a halo around her head.

"M-Molly?" Myo asked, uncertain. "N-no…"

Sadness welled up inside her, overflowing out of her eyes. She fell to her knees beside Molly's corpse as she began to sob. Humbo joined in too, reaching down to shut Molly's eyes and adjust her into a more dignified position.

Several Inklings ran past them. "C'mon! What are you doing!? We're getting out of here!" one yelled at them oblivious to the mourning of a lost loved one, or rather aware of the more pressing matter at hand. Myo caught sight of the invaders looming behind the smoke, they charged forwards with more effort than they had before.

"Myo! We need to go!" Humbo urged. While it pained him to say it: "We have to leave Molly here…"

Their eyes met. Myo could not believe that Humbo would even dare make such a suggestion; to leave their friend behind, dead or not, was unthinkable. "N-no! We can't-!"

"We will end up just like her if we don't go now! C'mon!" Humbo gave direct physical encouragement by helping Myo to her feet and grabbing her wrist, tugging her to flee the scene. Myo gazed back to get a glimpse of her childhood friend one last time, before losing sight of her behind another layer of smoke and charred rubble.

Oddly enough the invaders did not fire their weapons on them as they fled, instead they began chasing them down. Tailgating Inklings were getting tackled by the larger beings and were quickly bound. It became clear that they could run much faster than any Squid could.

"They're going to catch us! what do we do!?" Myo cried as Humbo began searching around. They needed a place to hide before they were caught.

"There!" He spotted a back alley they could duck into, with any luck they would find shelter there. Humbo tugged Myo in its direction. They hid behind a dumpster that sat along the narrow passage. Members of the invading race ran past the entry to the aisle, not noticing the two huddling in fear.

"M-Molly…" Myo began crying again, and Humbo gave her a gentle hug as he resumed his mourning as well. "She's dead! She's dead!"

"Myo! Be quiet! Someone's coming!" Humbo hushed her. A tall invader slowly began to walk down the alley. He was easily twice Myo and Humbo's height.

Myo knew what would happen next, she remembered it now and saw it clear as day.

"Myo…" Humbo whispered. "I have enough energy for my special…"

"Kraken?"

Humbo nodded. "Run…"

"Wait... w-what?"

"Run… get to the Plaza. It's just up ahead… from there you can get out of here… Find some place safe."

"W-what about you?"

"Run… don't look back… I'll catch up… I promise."

The invader neared their position. " _Si enoemos ereht?_ " he said in a harsh deep voice.

"Go now!" With that Humbo transformed into a Squid and tripled in size. The massive energized form of the Kraken appeared and Humbo charged forth from behind the dumpster, his muscular body threw itself at the being.

Myo ran out in the opposite direction hearing screaming and the rapid crack of the invader's death-weapon.

Myo ran out into the middle of a group of the towering monsters, having not enough time to check what was behind the corner. She tried to escape them but they easily chased her down. When she struggled as they bound her, they turned her over to have her look them in the face. A rock-hard fist connected with her head, and darkness took her.

A/N: It turns out I'm eating my words once again! Stay tuned for the last chapter! Don't worry I'll have it out very soon.

Inklings don't have any bones to break and seem capable of taking any fall unscathed. So there's that.

And to those nerdy enough to guess: Humbo's weapon is the Custom E-Liter 3K! It is the only charger with the Kraken as its special (Or at least it was when I wrote this).


	7. Chapter 7

"Pretty slick, right? I think you owe me a big 'Thank-you.' What do you think?"

"You did good, Old friend. Thank-you."

"And as part of the deal: I'll be keeping the Great Zapfish!"

"Wouldn't you rather stay with us on the surface?"

"Are you-... What!?"

"There's going to be plenty of space…"

"Oh, I see… Sorry about that."

"No need to apologize. It isn't your fault. C'mon, let's see Squid and Octopi united once again."

"You mean… just like old times?"

"Just like old times."

X

Warmth and comfort enveloped Myo's drowsy body. Soft blankets and pillows gave a heavenly lave of luxury, tempting her to fall back asleep. She felt no pain save for a stiff soreness in her gut. Was this the afterlife? There was no other explanation she could think of.

A profuse sadness awoke with her, in her dreams she had recollected what had happened to Humbo and Molly. But somehow she had already known, refusing to recognize it as truth until now. She would find the time to mourn them properly later. For now, she needed to know where she was.

With a yawn, Myo found the strength and motivation to lift herself up and gaze at her surroundings. Blurry warm colors greeted her, and she wiped away the morning sickness from her eyes to see better. She was in a bed with white and plush covers. Golden rays of sun filtered in through translucent curtains. Other beds, all empty, were lined up beside hers.

"So, you're awake." a calming voice spoke to her from behind. Myo turned around to see a pale pink face.

"Y-you're an Octoling!" Myo gasped. She tensed at seeing a member of the rival Octarian race.

"Don't worry. We are on good terms from here on out." The tall Octoling approached and sat next to Myo's bedside. She was careful to not present any sign of threat. "You can relax, you're safe now. You're in the Moray Hospital resting up."

"What? You mean _you_ have been taking care of me?" Myo then noticed a few rings of bandages covered portions of her head and body. It was such a surreal thought: Inklings and Octolings allied with each other. That was something that had not been seen in over a hundred years.

"Yeah. Long story short: _They_ are all gone."

"What are you-? The Ancients are… gone?" Myo looked dumbfounded.

"Yeah, pretty much. There actually might be more of them out there in space. But we will be ready for them if they decide to rear their ugly mugs again!" the Octoling declared patriotically. "It's all thanks to us! You should be thankful!"

Myo was taken aback at this. The Octarians had rescued her? She gazed over at the Octoling uneasily when she suddenly began to panic. "W-wait… Where's Psid!?"

"Hmm?" the Octoling blinked.

"M-my friend: Psid! He's a little boy with blue eyes and…" Myo paused, thinking of a very recognizable physical feature Psid now bore. "He got two of his fingers bitten off…"

"Oh, him." the Octoling said thoughtfully.

"You've seen him!?" Myo perked up, though this information did not confirm Psid was okay.

"Yeah. He's been spending most of his time sitting right here, actually." the Octoling said with a smile, her pointed fangs visible with the grin. "He's been waiting for you to get up all day."

"You mean he's okay!?" Myo inquired.

"Mostly. He's seen better days, but he's fine."

Myo collapsed back into her pillow. That was all she needed to hear. A wide smile grew on her face as her eyes rolled back and shut, the news of Psid's health was like a lullaby to her. Once she had finished savoring her moment of relief, she looked up at the Octoling. "Where is he?"

"I'm sure he'll be back soon if you wait for him." The Octoling lifted herself to her feet. "Or you could come with me to look for him if you like."

"Y-yes!" Myo excitedly rolled onto her side to approach the edge of the bed and swung her feet over the side. She groaned from the soreness in her gut as she began to exert herself to stand, bare feet touching the cold tile floor.

"Take it easy." the Octoling advised. "Don't push yourself."

Myo was able to stand on her own much to her surprise. She trotted out of the room behind the Octoling, eager to reunite with Psid.

The hallway she entered was much more quaint than the ones of the Ancient's ship. Much shorter ceilings and doorways, better fitting Inklings, and windows lined one side allowing natural light to enter. Through them Myo caught a glimpse of the Ancient space ship sitting in the distance, huge punctures in the side of its hull and certain areas torn off completely. Some of it's legs had been pulled out from underneath it leaving the structure lopsided. A second large metallic body stood tall next to it; it had a large bulbous head and building-thick robotic tentacles extending down holding it up. It was not as large as the ship, but they were comparable.

"What's that?" Myo pointed.

"Hmm?" the Octoling stopped to see what Myo meant. "Oh, that's the Great Octobot! General Octavio himself piloted it to victory! It was powered by your very own Great Zapfish, don't ya know. Captain Cuttlefish gave him to us as a peace offering, but we will be living together from now on so don't worry about it."

Myo blinked in surprise. There was a great irony to an Octarian super weapon rescuing the Inklings, considering their role in the Great Turf War a hundred years ago. She supposed with so many of the Inklings dead there would be more than enough room for both races to occupy the surface once more; a tragic convenience for the Octarians.

Finding their way into a cafeteria, Myo noticed how hungry she was; smelling the well prepared food made her mouth water. But she forgot about it when she spotted Psid's face among those sitting at the tables. Her heart quickened, filling with warmth.

She did not get his attention right away, instead she was mindful of how happy Psid looked as she approached him. Never had she seen such a simple cheer in his face. She moved around behind him and tapped him on the back.

Psid turned around and was greeted by Myo's smile. "Myo!" He jumped to his feet and wrapped his arms around her. "You're awake! How are you feeling? Are you hurt? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Myo answered. "I feel amazing actually."

"T-that's great!" Psid let go of her and looked up to meet her eyes. His eyes twinkled with dew drops of joy.

Myo moved to look at Psid's right hand, lifting his arm from around her. It's index and middle fingers were completely gone, the stumps hidden by bloodied cotton bandaged to his hand. Myo felt the pain of guilt wash over her upon seeing it.

Noticing her expression, Psid got her eye contact again. "It wasn't your fault. I'm fine."

Myo tugged him in for another hug. So many thoughts and feelings hit her at once; relief that Psid was finally safe, guilt that her guard had not been enough to save him from harm, sadness at the loss of her old friends. Too much had been fused into one emotion, leaving her unsure if she should be upset or experiencing the greatest happiness of her life. Either way it lead to tears.

Apparently Psid was not sure how she felt either, opting to give her silent reassurance by absorbing the embrace completely.

"I'm sorry." Myo said finally letting Psid go. She decided to change the subject. "How long was I out?"

"All day." Psid sat down, offering her a seat next to him. "I got up this morning. It's sunset now."

"I should probably eat then…" Myo moaned, remembering her hunger.

"Oh! Try the crabby cakes! That's my favorite one!" Psid bounced in his seat.

"O-okay!" Myo giggled seeing his display. Never had she seen him so excited about anything. Everyday privileges like good food and care would not be taken for granted ever again by any Inkling.

\- _Months later_ -

"Are you sure you can hold it properly?" Myo asked the now fourteen year old Psid.

"I can do it." Psid nodded in confidence, and Myo handed him a Splatter Shot. It was her first weapon when she was his age, and it felt only fitting to give it to him. It was a simple but reliable weapon. But missing his index and middle fingers on his right hand, he would not be without difficulty operating it. "I hope…"

"You can always use a roller you know!" Pata teased, slouched in a cushioned seat off to the side. "No dexterity required. Huh?"

"No. I wanna use a shooter…" Psid said, embarrassed. He struggled to align his two remaining fingers and thumb into a viable position of holding the ink weapon.

"Here." Myo intervened and helped him to grip it; his pinky and thumb wrapped about the hilt and his ring finger gingerly reached for the trigger. "See? You can still do it!"

Psid smiled warmly and gave a nod. "Yeah!"

"Well, I think I better get going. It's pretty late. Happy Birthday, Psid." Pata made her way out of the apartment. There was currently no power to light their homes with; the Great Zapfish's electricity being diverted to reconstruction efforts. This meant the sun was the only light source for now, and as such the Inklings had made a habit of going to sleep as the sun went down. "My roller offer is still open!"

"Yeah. Thanks." Psid said plainly.

"Goodnight, Pata. See you tomorrow?" Myo asked.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah of course! Gotta see how the birthday boy handles himself in turf war!" Pata exclaimed as she shut the door behind her.

Psid now lived in Myo's apartment under her care, since he had been too young to be allowed to own anything until today. Psid had lost everyone he knew in the initial attack so he had nowhere else to stay. A few weeks ago Myo had suggested finding him his own place now that he was turning fourteen, but Psid didn't like the idea of being too far away from his caretaker. Myo certainly didn't mind the company, and did not resent him for staying with her in the slightest.

"She's just joking around." Myo began once Pata had left the room. She had noticed how Psid was slightly disheartened at Pata's mention of his handicap. "Don't mind her. She didn't mean anything by it."

"I know. But… What if I'm not any good? I don't want you losing because of me…"

Myo lifted his chin up so she could look at him straight. "I'm sure you'll do fine, so don't worry about it. Okay? Besides: It's not about winning. I'll be happy as long as I see you happy and having fun."

Psid smiled at this. "Then… I can't wait until tomorrow!"

"You better get to bed! You'll need your strength for your first turf war!"

"Okay! I should go get ready!" Psid hopped up from his seat and ran off to the other room to prepare for bed. Myo chuckled at his childlike enthusiasm.

X

That night Myo lay in her bed half awake, reflecting on the events of the past. Some nights would be like this: Sleep would never come, and she would simply lie in rest until the morning sun alerted her that she did not need to lay there any longer.

She shifted her weight to find a more comfortable position. Her side was sore, even after several months it never truly healed completely.

The shadowy outline of Psid stepped in from the other room and into the line of moonlight that peaked through the curtains. "U-um… Myo?" he whispered. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah." Myo returned. "What is it?"

"I can't sleep…" Myo knew what this meant. "C-can I sleep with you tonight?"

Myo scooched over under the sheets to make room for the boy, and he gratefully slid his body underneath the covers, pulling them up and over his shoulders. Myo, laying on her back, felt Psid wrap his arms around one of hers. He hugged her like a child clinging to its mother. "I saw them…" He said. Myo noticed he was trembling.

"It's okay. It was just a dream." Myo reassured. "You're safe. They can't hurt you."

Psid pressed his face against the upper sleeve of her shirt, and Myo felt small wet spot slowly grow from the tears soaking into her clothing. "They-… They took you and-... they just wouldn't stop... Y-you… you died…"

At this Myo reached her other arm over to caress his face, hushing him. "It's okay… Be strong, Psid. You're a kid now, an adult Inkling. Don't you worry about anything. I'll always be right here."

He held on to her arm tighter as if afraid that the tall demons might be lurking behind the veil of darkness in the room, watching them. Eventually his shaky breath and grip on her calmed, Myo hushing and humming him to sleep. Her voice did wonders to ease his nerves, and amazingly Psid's warmth did wonders on her.

Myo placed a small kiss on the top of his head once he had fallen asleep. "Psid… I'll always be here to protect you… I promise."

A/N: The Great Octobot is the robot DJ Octavio uses at the end of hero mode. Most of you probably know this but some might not know what it was called. Octavio didn't so much win with ink but rather brute force considering the sheer size of the tentacles in the background during the boss.

Thanks to everyone who read my story to completion! I know it's dark, the idea just seemed right in my mind.

Special thanks to IssacDenev for the cover image!


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